Posted!

Join the Conversation

Comments

Welcome to our new and improved comments, which are for subscribers only.
This is a test to see whether we can improve the experience for you.
You do not need a Facebook profile to participate.

You will need to register before adding a comment.
Typed comments will be lost if you are not logged in.

Please be polite.
It's OK to disagree with someone's ideas, but personal attacks, insults, threats, hate speech, advocating violence and other violations can result in a ban.
If you see comments in violation of our community guidelines, please report them.

U.S. Attorney Sherri Lydon announced Friday the unsealing of indictments that accuse seven Orangeburg County law enforcement officers, including deputies and the Springfield chief of police, of accepting bribes in a combination of visa schemes and drug-related operations.

At a news conference in Columbia that was broadcast by local media, Lydon said the indictments are against "a handful of alleged bad actors, who, if the allegations are proved, do not deserve to wear the badge and should not be allowed to bring disrepute to the men and women in blue who serve South Carolina with integrity."

Those indicted include four deputies and one reserve deputy with the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office, a police officer with the Springfield Police Department who used to work at the Sheriff's Office, and Springfield Chief of Police LaCra Jenkins. Two people who are not law enforcement officers are also indicted in the case.

Some of the officers are accused of using their official positions to help others obtain visas to enter or remain in the United States, Lydon said. Those officers are accused of accepting bribes in exchange for getting visas that were fraudulently obtained, Lydon said.

Lydon said the officers are accused of fraudulently obtaining "U visas" for others. U visas, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security website, are non-immigrant visas "set aside for victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful to law enforcement or government officials in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity." They are meant to be used to help combat crimes such as sexual assault, domestic violence and human trafficking.

Lydon said some of the indicted law enforcement officers in Orangeburg County are accused of falsely claiming that undocumented immigrants had been victims of crime and qualified for those visas.

Other officers indicted are accused of helping protect methamphetamine, crack, cocaine or the proceeds of selling those drugs. Lydon said some officers are accused of protecting tractor-trailers that they believed to be carrying proceeds from drug trafficking.

Some officers are accused of participating in both the visa and drug schemes, while some are accused of just one of them.

Those indicted and their charges are:

► Springfield Police Chief LaCra Jenkins: conspiracy, visa fraud, conspiracy to possess with Intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime;

►Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Carolyn Colter Franklin: conspiracy, visa fraud, conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances, and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime;

► Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Nathaniel Miller Shazier, III: Conspiracy, Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances, and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime;

► Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Stanley Lavalle Timmons: Conspiracy, Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Controlled Substances, and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime;

►Orangeburg County Sheriff’s Office Reserve Deputy James Albert Tucker: conspiracy, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime;

► Saurabhkumar B. Patel, of Orangeburg, South Carolina: conspiracy; and

► Tarang Patel, of Newport, Kentucky: conspiracy and visa fraud.

If convicted, Jenkins, Hunter, Franklin, Timmons, Shazier and Tucker face a maximum penalty of life in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Rogers, Saurabhkumar Patel and Tarang Patel face a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment.

"We will not tolerate the hypocrisy of those who would pretend to enforce the law while violating it themselves as they seek to line their own pockets," Lydon said. "We call that public corruption, and we will always call it out.”

The investigation was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the State Law Enforcement Division.

SLED Chief Mark Keel said SLED agents in 2017 uncovered information involving allegations of misconduct by members of the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Office "that reached beyond South Carolina's borders."

Jody Norris, special agent in charge of the FBI's Columbia office, said going after public corruption is a priority of the agency.

"The actions described in these indictments demonstrate a clear betrayal of the people of Orangeburg County, this state, and legitimate law enforcement who risk their lives every day," said Norris.